Ferringo Brings Consistency, Wisdom to Montserrat
by Ray D. Enzé, NLN baseball blogger
January 8, 2038: Little Bay, Montserrat – Aurora used the 29th overall pick in the 2019 draft for a speedy, high contact – low power hitting outfielder who would be destined to play almost exclusively at DH; a player whose style highly impacted Aurora’s future roster building philosophy as it moved out of the championship years and into the future. Oregon State’s Pedro Ferringo would play 8-years for Aurora and make it out to the outfield just 16 times – but his 18-year PEBA career was not defned by his defensive prowess, but by his slick swing and baserunning abilities.
Despite leaving Aurora after 8-seasons (after just 129 minor league games) – spending 3-years at rival Reno, 5-years at West Virginia, a year at Madison – finishing with just a game at Kalamazoo this past season – 1 AB and fittingly a hit and a run, it is the club that put the sweet-swinging lefty on the map that has brought him back into the fold.
I toured the facilities at Little Bay with Pedro shortly after his being named the hitting coach for the Borealis’ rookie club on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, and the 40-year old from Passaic, New Jersey looked right at home in a Hawaiian shirt, shorts and a pair of flip-flops. As he scanned the Mystique complex from the broadcast booth at Soufriere Hills Park, in the shadow of the volcano it was named for – the park, the side field, batting cages – and indoor training facilities and dormatories for the players, his first comment was “Wow! This sure beats what we had at San Luis and Gatineau my first year when I was drafted.” He beamed, a smile that was intensified by the low winter sun on a warm 75º day. “If they had this facility when I was drafted, I so would have wanted to be here – too bad I would have been too old!”
Ferringo left Aurora with no hard feelings – a snafu at PEBA headquarters set Pedro off as a free agent, despite the club and player agreeing on a long-term deal. Instead he signed with Reno, Aurora got a compensatory pick that ironically became a player with a similar skill set – though better defensive skills, Stewart Arundale. “I wanted to stay, but when Commissioner Ragland voided the deal on a technicality, I figured ‘what the hell’, might as well explore the options.” Those options took him to Reno. “Had ‘Harry’ taken over sooner, who knows what might have happened – what with his connections with Aurora and the family business and all.”
(Postscript: I contacted the Commissioner’s office and he said, ‘Pedro must be smoking crack if he thinks he would have gotten an ‘Auroran pass’)
We strolled down to the shoreline from the ballpark and were mobbed by a group of youngsters, drawn to us by the aqua-green cap Pedro wore, with the black octopus staring menacingly, “I love this – the sun, the warmth, I envy the guys here – or at Mokule’ia, who have the chance to spend their early adult lives in such an amazing environment.” I asked him what expectations he had, coaching in the Aurora system. “For now – teaching hitting, baserunning, and working with the outfielders about positioning. I may not have been the best of outfielders, but as a hitter who used the whole field, I know a thing or two about how an outfielder should position himself for each hitter.”
We eventually made it to his new home, on the beach, semi-secluded – a small place – almost a shack, with geckos wandering about, and away from the bustle of the island’s revived port. “I know that Aurora has made a concentrated effort to bring back their stars – you know, the ones with ‘street cred’ for the new age of players? Many of whom I played with. I may be a different a different generation of player from ‘Ice Cold’ – drafted two-years after he retired, but I look forward to working with him. I don’t know what may be instore for me in the future with the organization – I look at the Organizational roster, and it’s loaded with talented players – and minds, but right now? I’m in heaven!”
As I prepared to leave, I asked Pedro who he was excited to work with. “Well, obviously whoever ends up here after the draft – hopefully we get a solid prospect with that first pick of ours, but Vicente Carvajal, Pedro Lujan and Aurelio Archuleta are the current players whom I sense the club has high hopes for – especially Lujan; second-base has long been a black hole for the club – sorry Ruben…” It looks like the Borealis have made an excellent hire – passionate, smart and willing to put in the hard work. That defined Pedro ferringo as a player, and it looks like he will carry that into his coaching career.
